Colorado could gain 1,250 jobs over the next five years after landing the headquarters of Arrow Electronics, a Fortune 200 company with $18.7 billion in revenues.

Arrow Electronics, based in Melville, N.Y., will move its corporate headquarters to Arapahoe County effective Nov. 15, the company announced this morning.

The company already has about 1,000 employees in the Inverness business park near Centennial Airport, where it has maintained an office since 2000.

The company is a major supplier to the computer and consumer electronics industries and operates a Colorado-based management-services division with revenues of $5.6 billion. Arrow has grown rapidly in recent years with the explosive growth in smartphones and other consumer products that use computer components, as well as through a slew of acquisitions.

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The state won't gain a large number of jobs immediately, said spokesman John Hourigan. Executives based in Melville and other corporate locations won't move here and jobs aren't being relocated.

But the state's Economic Development Commission approved $11.4 million last week under its Job Growth Incentive Tax Credit, which could result in another 1,250 jobs as the company grows. The state is now recruiting companies that supply Arrow to move here as well.

"This is one of those moments when focus and discipline pays off," said Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper in a release announcing the move. "We haven't been shy about working to retain, grow and recruit new businesses in Colorado. Today, we are proud to welcome Arrow Electronics' global headquarters to its new Colorado home. We look forward to doing all we can to help the company prosper."

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The company provides electronic components and enterprise computing services to commercial and industrial customers in 52 countries.

"This change puts Arrow Electronics firmly in the heart of this country's epicenter for innovation," said Michael J. Long, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Arrow, in a statement. "We want our global corporate headquarters located in a state that's committed to supporting business growth and is collaborative in spirit. Colorado is that place."

Long already lives in Colorado and today's announcement represents a change in address, Hourigan said.

Long headed Arrow's Colorado-based Enterprise Computing Solutions (ECS) division, formerly known as Arrow North American Computer Products, from 1998 to 2005. The division provides management services to electronics industry suppliers and resellers and accounts for more than 30 percent of Arrow's revenues.

Long held various executive positions with Arrow from 2005 to 2009, when he was named chief executive officer. He remained in Denver, where he is a member of the Denver Zoo's board of trustees.

Arrow purchased 44 acres of land in 2000 in the Inverness business park, but has only developed a small portion of that property for its ECS operations.

Over time, the Colorado office grew to employ nearly twice as many people as the headquarters on Long Island. Newsday reported in 2009 that Arrow was the largest company on Long Island based on sales.

Globally, Arrow employs 12,700 and has 340 offices worldwide. It was No. 140 on Fortune magazine's most recent list of the largest U.S. companies.

In recent years, Colorado has lost several Fortune 500 headquarters, including Qwest Communications and First Data Corp.

Arrow will join nine other Fortune 500 companies based in the state, a list that includes Ball, CH2M Hill, DaVita, DISH Network, Level 3, Liberty Global, Liberty Media, Newmont Mining and Western Union.

"The relocation of a Fortune 500 company to Colorado will feed our reputation as a global business center and bring more talent in its wake," said Sen. Mark Udall in a statement.

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